Ladies and Gentlemen – since this is a special time of the year when wishes often would come true, I want to share with you what I most wish for this Christmas.  And these are not my wishes alone.  They are on the wish list of every single member of the TTCA and, I’m sure, most contractors who do work for the State.

Our first wish is to have projects awarded and ready for implementation at the very start of the Dry Season. 

The general public might be surprised to learn that in the construction industry, a week does not have seven days – at least not in the rainy season!  

Oftentimes, a week only has four days! Sometimes it has just two or three days because, while it may not be raining, the site is saturated.

So, for very practical reasons, the dry season – January to the end of April – are historically the most productive construction months. These are the months when we should be addressing any critical infrastructure works with a high level of efficiency.  These are the months when we should push and prioritise projects most prone to delays and stoppages when it rains.  

The TTCA’s recommendation is that such projects be tendered and awarded before January – I would say mid-December for the latest – to allow the successful Contractor’s time to order materials and mobilise their resources to commence work early in January. 

So we are hoping that, while still adhering to all the required procurement procedures, the State and its Agencies can create a Christmas miracle and find a way to have projects awarded in time for the start of the coming dry season.  And certainly, there is sufficient time to plan for another Christmas miracle in December 2023. 

Our second wish is for a Procurement Plan Schedule through which the State informs the industry, in advance, of the projects that will be tendered over the next 12 months.  A three-year schedule would be even more ideal.  Let us know what’s coming in each quarter.  This planned pipeline of projects would have the following basic project information: Project Name, Location, Scope and Timeline.

This would allow contractors to allocate their finite resources more effectively and bid more appropriately.  Everyone could be more selective and strategic based on their resource capability and capacity.

The big Contractor’s would not be pressured into bidding on every tender in sight at the start of the year, because of uncertainty of what would be coming later. Likewise, the small Contractor in Pt Fortin could choose not to bid for a project in Arima in January because he knows that the following month, a project of similar value would be tendered right in his backyard.

With a Procurement Plan Schedule, project dollars could be spread more widely and equitably.

The State and taxpayers would also earn better returns on every project dollar spent as contractors would be in a better position to make the best bid, break ground sooner on a project and complete it more efficiently.  It would really be a win-win-win for the State, for Contractor’s and for Taxpayer’s.

Let me also point out that with more contractors generating foreign exchange for Trinidad and Tobago as they export their services to Guyana and throughout the Caribbean, it is even more urgent that they be able to plan ahead. We do not want projects delayed in T&T because the Contractor’s best people and equipment are elsewhere.